Experts are full of valuable knowledge and are ready to help with any question. Credentials confirmed by a Fortune 500 verification firm.

Get a Professional Answer

Via email, text message, or notification as you wait on our site.Ask follow up questions if you need to.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Rate the answer you receive.

Ask legalgems Your Own Question

legalgems, Lawyer

Category: Legal

Satisfied Customers: 9970

Experience: Just Answer consultant at Self employed

63726236

Type Your Legal Question Here...

legalgems is online now

Our mortgage payment quadrupled and we had to apply for a

This answer was rated:

★★★★★

our mortgage payment quadrupled and we had to apply for a loan mosificationJA: Because real estate law varies from place to place, can you tell me what state this is in?Customer: MaineJA: Has anything been filed or reported?Customer: we have done all the paperwork but no answer yetJA: Anything else you want the lawyer to know before I connect you?Customer: should we stop payments before we run out of money. we are elderly retired and limited assets. the bank still takes from our checking account for the payment. should we stop this

We cannot let the bank take our home. We have no place else to go....never had a late or missed payment and bank seems so cold about it all. in 3-4 months we could be out of money. no money for our monthly bills we lost 90% of IRA during 2008 market fiasco bank will not just refinance because of our limited income

Customer:replied 4 months ago.

really cannot afford the cost of phone call. let's try the email for now thanks

Customer:replied 4 months ago.

should we stop payments must we be in arrears in order to get the modification

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing financial difficulties; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau precludes foreclosure while a loan modification is pending - please see homeowner rights here:

However, many people will try to stay current because it does not stop the foreclosure process; so for example if the homeowner is delinquent and the loan modification request is denied, the auction date can be predetermined which can expedite the foreclosure process. Also if a homeowner defaults on the modification agreement that can result in the lender calling for repayment (immediate) of any delinquent amount- please see below for more information:

https://law.georgia.gov/mortgage-and-foreclosure-information#Book5

Also there is no guarantee that if a temporary modification is approved that it will be permanent.

Lending institutions can be very distant; a bankruptcy proceeding can buy time (ie the bankruptcy stay) but generally does not provide much relief. CH 13 is available for homeowners that need to restructure their debt, but to be effective it typically requires enough income so the person can afford their mortgage.

Furthermore one need only show dire circumstances versus actual default to qualify for loan modification programs.

Further questions? Please post here to continue the chat.

Satisfied?Kindly rate positively so I receive credit for assisting you. I hope that you feel I have earned

5 stars🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟*****

as I strive to provide my customers with great service. ☺️

(no additional charges are incurred).

Information provided is for educational purposes only. Consultation with a personal attorney is always recommended so your particular facts may be considered. Thank you and take care.

$1600.00 is alot of money going out each month when it was just $400.00 a few months ago.we will not be able to pay after 2 more months. should we just stop the bleeding now? we did not ask for modification. the bank set it in motion....would not refinance because of our limited income butmyet they expect us to be able to make $1600.00 opayments

If payments are stopped then they can begin the foreclosure process unfortunately (based on the default). This can result in additional fees such as late fees and penalties, not to mention legal fees. If a third party lender has not been consulted that may be an avenue because one may be able to secure a more affordable loan. Also the document should be reviewed to determine why the loan went up 4x the original amount.

at the time they set up the modification we had only asked for a refinance. in the beginning we had a 20 year conventional mortgage and the next thing we knew it had been converted to a home equity. was that legal for them to do?

The actual application and documentation would need to be reviewed which is an additional service I am unable to participate in; but the mortgage industry did have the recent shake up due to "predatory lending' and other consumer deceptive practices in which case it would be illegal to do.

Yes, there is no restriction which precludes a borrower from contacting third party lenders for refinancing.

One can stop auto pay and provide physical checks if that is the preference.

If the modification is approved then the new terms of repayment would apply so if the lender took out an additional amount that would be a deceptive business practice and an unauthorized withdrawal and the consumer could sue for reimbursement and possibly punitive damages.

just one more thing...........the original mortgage was for $150,000 and we ahd paid back $25,000 of it when they changed it over to that home equity. They also changed the amount for $200,000 saying it would give us flexibility if we wanted to write a check on it. They were the ones who decided on the amount of the new "loan" saying it was their version of that same conventional mortgage we originally had

Customer:replied 4 months ago.

I had bad feelings about it when they did it but 10 years seemed so far away and we had no idea that it would come, to this.

I'm sorry - my post did not go through- I had mentioned that while litigation is one of the more stressful things in life, a good attorney will handle as much of the case as possible so that may be helpful.

I think I understand............my first thing is to get a lawyer to read both documents. I also have the billing statements that look a bit shady too.....fixed rate and variable rate attached to one account number